127 shots and 55 over par – time for the 19th hole!

NEXT TIME you’re hacking your way around one of the local golf courses, summon the spirit of the player who not only failed to card a single par but only managed two bogeys on his way to an astonishing 127 in US Open local qualifying – finishing 55 shots over par.

On the 10th hole at Silver Lakes in Glencoe, Alabama, Clifton McDonald began badly with a double bogey seven. Things got much worse, and he was 14 over par after six holes by the time he stepped on to the 16th tee. Fourteen furious swipes later, he had completed the par five.

Most people would have walked off, throwing their clubs into the nearest water feature… but not Clifton. He carried on regardless to make what the Alabama Golf Association says is without doubt “the highest score we’ve had in any qualifying event”.

“The guy was really nice. It’s just you could tell he was in over his head. It was a beautiful sunny day, it wasn’t breezy at all. It’s just a tough golf course. The feedback we got from other players was that it was firm and fast. Honestly it’s good qualifying for the Open at Erin Hills. We got his scorecard and he confirmed what he had shot, but we didn’t speak to him for very long. You could tell he had had a long day. But it I will say one thing, the gentleman played it out.”

Lee McCoy, who finished second to take one of five qualifying spots, tweeted the scorcard, adding: “The scorecard of the guy that played in front of me at US Open qualifying today. Shot 68 on his front 9 and decided to finish #NeverGiveUp.”

McDonald was, perhaps not surprisingly, bottom of the pack in 67th.

This year’s US Open takes place between 15-18 June in Erin Hills, Wisconsin. About half of the field is made up of players who are exempt from qualifying – such as the defending champion, Dustin Johnson.

But any professional golfer, or an amateur with a handicap of 1.4 or lower, is eligible to enter local qualifying, which is played at 114 courses around the US and Canada.

Those who are successful advance to sectional qualifying, which takes place at 10 sites in the US as well as in Japan and at Walton Heath in Surrey.

The Sol Times team wants to give you, the reader, the very best of local and regional news.
For all your community and news queries get in touch with our editor, Benjamin Park, either by email on editor@soltimes.com or call 951 38 61 61. We are looking for writers and contributors in all areas, too.
For advertising opportunities in print and online please contact Jackie on 642 454 311 or email: jackie@euroweeklynews.com
Can you sell? We need top sales people for all areas on the Costas. And we're seeking reliable distributors of our newspapers too.
Please email recruitment@ewnmediagroup.com for all employment opportunities.

Notify me of followup comments to this article via e-mail. You can also subscribe without commenting.

We welcome comments from readers on our website and across our social networks. We invite you to discuss issues and share your views and we encourage robust debate and criticism provided it is civil.

However we reserve the right to reject or edit comments that:

• Contain offensive language
• Include personal attacks of any kind
• Are likely to offend or target any ethnic, racial, nationality or religious group
• Are homophobic, transphobic, sexist, offensive or obscene
• Contain spam or include links to other sites
• Are clearly off topic
• Impersonate an individual or organisation, are fraudulent, defamatory of any person, threatening or invasive of another’s privacy or otherwise illegal
• Are trolling or threatening
• Promote, advertise or solicit the sale of any goods or services

You grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, worldwide licence to republish any material you submit to us, without limitation, in any format.